Twofish, Inc. today launched Twofish Elements, the game industry's first turnkey solution for powering a dynamic and realistic in-game economy. A true Economic Engine, Twofish Elements integrates seamlessly into games, provides a flexible and secure banking and retail infrastructure, and puts complex economic analytics at a game operator's fingertips. The technology solves core problems with an emerging business model for the video game industry, in which games are distributed for free and players "pay-as-they-play," making small in-game purchases called micro-transactions. "Micro-transactions are here and now. But they require a whole new level of sophistication for the games industry," said Lee … Continue reading Twofish Elements Economy Engine Released →

KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Naoki Katashima has been appointed to the role of Executive Vice President of KOEI Ltd. in the UK, KOEI France, and KOEI Corporation in North America. In this new position, he will manage the sales and marketing operations in each of these territories. Mr. Katashima's appointment is part of KOEI's new mid-term plan, which also includes the formation of two global business divisions within company's headquarters at Yokohama, Japan. Each division will focus specifically on the Western and Asian markets, respectively. In addition to his … Continue reading Naoki Katashima Is KOEI Executive VP →

Greenberg Glusker today announced that its client, Ubisoft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, has obtained a $13.2 million judgment in a copyright and trademark infringement dispute against MGA Entertainment, the owner of Bratz dolls. Greenberg Glusker attorneys Stephen Smith and Suann MacIsaac, joining with Dale Kinsella of Kinsella, Weitzman, Iser, Kump & Aldisert, represented Ubisoft in the American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration that led to the judgment. "We are thrilled with the result, and we feel completely vindicated," said Ubisoft's General Counsel Cecile Russeil. "We could not have achieved this outcome without attorneys who mastered every … Continue reading Ubisoft Wins $13 Million Bratz Judgment Against MGA →

Dear Editor, John Breeden's interesting article on which way a publisher should go: High end graphics that most gamers haven't got, or slick gameplay, like Sid Meier's Pirates that do not have high end graphics, as well as the problem of PC gaming and the temptation of moving to console got me thinking" In a gentle way he has hit on what will decide the future of the PC gaming format. Last year was the crossroads. And this year and next will decide whether PC gaming turns the corner or carrying straight on to oblivion (to coin a word!). 2007 … Continue reading Dear Editor: Story Beats Graphics →

Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online announced the details of the fourth free content update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Book 12: The Ashen Wastes continues the epic story of The Lord of the Rings Online, adds substantial new features that provide players ability to truly personalize their heroes and an inventive new region that blends the challenge of a 12-player raid with the action of player-vs-player combat. Book 12: The Ashen Wastes will be available to subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online on February 13, 2007 in North America and February … Continue reading Lord Of The Rings Online Expands →

Brighter Minds Media, LLC (Brighter Minds) is thrilled to announce the start of a new partnership with top game developer Gamelab. Brighter Minds will publish and distribute a selection of Gamelab's hit titles for the retail market. The collaboration will combine Gamelab's pioneering development skill and Brighter Minds' expertise in software packaging and distribution to bring creative new game ideas to retail locations throughout the country. "At Brighter Minds we have worked hard to establish ourselves as a leader in retail distribution for the casual games market, and Gamelab has been a leader in the field of innovative game development … Continue reading Brighter Minds Partners With Gamelab →

Sweet Spot Productions has been launched in Hollywood as a new, full-service marketing agency specializing in conceiving, developing and producing consumer and trade campaigns promoting feature films and videogames. Sweet Spot specializes in producing film trailers, teasers, TV and radio spots, Internet webisodes and cross-platform/new media marketing. Don Scotti and Joe Takats, co-founders of Sweet Spot Productions, made the announcement. Currently, Sweet Spot is producing a special presentation that will be seen during the Feb. 24th Oscars telecast. Regarding the formation of his new company, Scotti said, "This is a very challenging time to be in the business of producing … Continue reading Sweet Spot Productions Founded →

BreakAway, a leading developer of entertainment games and game-based technology products for modeling, simulation, training and visualization today announced that BreakAway's mōsbē desktop development platform will be used to develop experimentation scenarios to support U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) and U.S. Northern Command, Noble Resolve 08, a series of events designed to enhance homeland defense measures and military support during natural or man-made disasters. Using mōsbē's robust simulation engine, development tools and newly integrated incident command capabilities, USJFCOM will be the first customer to use mōsbē to create incident command rehearsal scenarios. The scenarios will be used to train first-responder … Continue reading MOSBE Desktop Selected For Military's Noble Resolve 08 →

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced the first public demonstration showing realistic mobile game benchmarks based on the emerging OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics standard, running on cell phone hardware. In collaboration with Futuremark, a respected developer of PC and handheld performance benchmarks, Broadcom will demonstrate the ability of the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard to deliver a significantly enhanced gaming experience on mobile devices when powered with the innovative VideoCore(R) III multimedia processor. The enhanced mobile gaming demonstrations, utilizing Futuremark performance benchmarks and based on the Broadcom(R) BCM2727 VideoCore III multimedia … Continue reading Broadcom Demonsting Mobile Game Benchmarks →

Namco Networks, a leading publisher of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market consumers including top selling arcade classics PAC-MAN, Ms. PAC-MAN, Galaga and Dig-Dug, today announced the availability of its latest arcade classics Mr. Do! and Mr. Do!'s Castle on mobile. In Namco Networks' update to the arcade classic Mr. Do!, players are challenged to help Mr. Do! collect cherries for his pie-tossing clown act. Players must clear the field of cherries while avoiding wild animals such as Red Rovers, Munchie Monsters or Alpha Monsters that have escaped from the traveling circus caravans. The mobile version of Mr. Do! includes … Continue reading Mr Do! Goes Mobile →